2560 BC – 2550 BCs

Events in 2560 BC – 2550 BC 2

• 2580 BC – 2560 BC Great Pyramid of Giza -- the oldest Wonder The Great Pyramid of Giza, built for Pharaoh Khufu c.2580-2560 BC, is the oldest and largest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one still standing. It contains approximately 2.3 million stone blocks averaging 2.5 tonnes; the total mass is approximately 5.9 million tonnes. For 3,800 years it is the tallest structure on earth at 146.5 metres. The precision is extraordinary: the base is level to within 2.1 centimetres, the sides aligned to true north within 0.05 degrees. The Merer Papyrus (discovered 2013) -- a logbook of a middle-ranking official -- provides the first direct contemporary evidence of how it was built: organised work gangs, boats transporting limestone from Tura, a ramp system.
• 2558 BC – 2532 BC Khafre and the Great Sphinx Pharaoh Khafre (c.2558-2532 BC) builds the second pyramid at Giza and the Great Sphinx -- the largest monumental sculpture in the ancient world, carved from a single outcrop of limestone bedrock. The Sphinx (73 metres long, 20 metres high) depicts a recumbent lion with a human head, almost certainly bearing Khafre's features. Its purpose is debated: it may guard the necropolis, represent the pharaoh as a solar deity, or serve as a marker for the pyramid complex. The famous Dream Stele between the Sphinx's paws, erected by Thutmose IV (c.1400 BC), records a dream in which the Sphinx promises him the kingship if he clears the sand from around it -- evidence that it was already ancient and half-buried by the New Kingdom.